Too many deaths and injuries are caused by unauthorized users gaining access to firearms. In many instances, it is the owner or authorized user of the weapon who is the victim of the shooting. For example, during a struggle between a police officer and a suspect, the suspect may gain control of the police officer's firearm and use it against the officer. Similarly, an intruder may gain control of a homeowner's firearm during a burglary and use the firearm against the homeowner. Children also sometimes gain access to firearms and unintentionally injure themselves or others. In order to prevent such tragic consequences, or to at least reduce their incidence, it is desirable to provide some type of safety device to prevent the use of a firearm by anyone other than an authorized user. However, it is also desirable that an authorized user not be prevented from quickly accessing and firing the firearm when necessary in an emergency.
For a number of reasons, many previously known safety devices have proven less than fully satisfactory in preventing unauthorized use of a firearm and/or they render the firearm too inaccessible for potential emergency use. For example, typical trigger locks are unwieldy to remove, and are not suited for use when a firearm must be available for immediate access. Many previously known security holsters do not positively lock the firearm in the holster, but instead require that the firearm be pivoted or otherwise manipulated according to a known sequence to enable removal. Such devices may not be completely effective in preventing removal and use of a weapon by an unauthorized user who knows or successfully guesses the manipulation sequence. Other devices require a user to wear a transmitter or bar code on the hand or wrist, which is recognized by the device to permit access to a firearm. Such devices have been found inconvenient as they require a user to wear a glove or transmitter at all times in order to have access to the firearm, and also are not completely effective in preventing removal and use of a weapon by an unauthorized user who obtains access to the transmitter or bar code. In addition, typical key-lock firearm cases and racks can be pried open without too much difficulty, and many children have been injured by gaining access to their parents' firearms because of this.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need yet exists for a safety device for preventing unauthorized persons from accessing and using a firearm. A need further exists for such a device that nonetheless allows easy and fast access to the firearm by an authorized user. A need further exists for such a device that is impossible, or at least very difficult and time-consuming, for an unauthorized person to break into to access the firearm. It is to the provision of a device meeting these and/or other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.